


Wake Up, Come Home

by Eternal_Love_Song



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Dark, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Mind Control, Mind Control, No happy endings, Out of Body Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 11:21:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5583910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternal_Love_Song/pseuds/Eternal_Love_Song
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wake Up. You've been gone too long.<br/>You know what you have to do.<br/>Come home.</p><p>Loki should have known this day would come.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wake Up, Come Home

**Author's Note:**

> Born of darkness and one with darkness it became.  
> (In other words, dark thoughts make dark stories.)

**Wake Up. You've been gone too long.**

_No._

**You know what you have to do.**

_No!_

**Come home.**

* * *

Loki woke up screaming. It was only in his head though. There was an intense unbroken silence surrounding him. Loki watched himself as he sat up, as he looked over. as he reached out to Tony sleeping beside him.

Loki was screaming.

His hands were around Tony's throat.

Everything was silence.

Tony's eyes were open and staring wide eyed at Loki. It's been three years, sleeping next to this man. Two years of feeling safe in his own head and body. One year of being unrelentingly in love. Tony's hands were grabbing at Loki's, trying to free his throat. Loki was too strong, though and Tony was only human. He could only try so hard, fight so long, before there was nothing else he could do.

Five minutes, to destroy everything Loki had worked for.

"Loki?" Miss Potts spoke from the other side of the bed. Two years of admiration, One year of trust, and five months of love spoke up from other side of Tony. Tony often slept in between them, being the thing that had brought them together. In the beginning, when Tony had first thought to have the people he loved together, Loki had been in the middle. To help him feel safe, trusted... to chase nightmares like this.

**You come home.**

Miss Potts was a light sleeper. Loki wished that she wasn't. He wished that she was slept even lighter. Maybe had she remained sleep, she would be spared. Maybe if she were faster she could escape.

Loki was moving too slowly, too quickly, all at once. His hands were only now removing themselves from around Tony's throat and she had seen him. Looked in his eyes and saw... what?

"Friday!" She began in a panic, but Loki's body chose that moment to move full speed. He grabbed her by her throat, pinned her to he bed by it.

"Friday." Loki was surprised to find that he could speak, when he couldn't scream. When he had spent the past ten minutes screaming and hearing nothing on it. "Turn yourself off."

"Yes, Master Loki."

Three months of her, and Loki destroyed her, too.

"Loki..." Miss Potts... Virginia... he had always struggled with which to call her, gasped out. "Please don't..."

His body could cry. Tears touched her face and they weren't her own. Her own were still trapped in the corners of her eyes as she tried, failed, to breathe.

He stopped long after she did. He had fought not to, and when that didn't work, fought not to let go. It was easier to make himself hold on than to let go. He was sick, watching his hands bruise her slender throat, grab and twist her skin. He was sick, feeling the dead weight of Tony on the other side of him. But his body was too used to horrors and death by now to physically act on it ad so this was all he could do to delay.

Two years of being passive, one year of love. Loki's defenses were too soft. He had become too lax. He was tricked.

**You know what to do.**

Loki could no longer track the time when he let go. When he watched himself rise from the bed, dress, leave.

Vision was at the door. His expression was mostly blank as always, but there was a touch of worry. "Is everything alright? I tried to interact with Friday, but she did not respond."

One year of knowing this creature before, one year after. The lines between Vision and Jarvis were too blurred for Loki to untangle. He had not known either creature long enough nor well enough. That wasn't what hurt when he grabbed Vision, forced him to the ground, plunged his hand into the creatures head.

It was worse to look at once Loki had the mind gem in his hand. The creatures eyes were blank, empty as the hole Loki created in his head.

Loki had worried at first, being around Vision. He should have known better.

Loki should have known.

**You know what to do.**

Screaming.

* * *

Loki kept a list, had always kept his list, and he counted them as he laid each body down. He counted time in trust gained, in acceptance earned.

Seven months, Black Widow.

One year and three months, The Captain.

Four months, The Hawk.

Five Months, The Falcon.

One year, for his precious witch that sobbed in the corner. Her powers were the worst in this situation. Loki was already in a nightmare, there was nothing she could do to him, but touching his mind had been the last thing she would ever do on her own. **His** nightmares were too strong for her mind. **His** voice would be too strong for her soon enough, once **He** finished breaking her.

Loki wished that the beast had not disappeared. He was the only one that could have stopped Loki in Thor's place and Thor had already proved that he was unwilling to kill Loki even when Loki needed him to. Not that Thor was here to do so anyway.

**You come home.**

The witch stopped her sobbing immediately. The blue in her eyes clashed terribly with everything about her. She was not meant for this. It did not suit. Not that Loki's opinion made much of a difference.

Loki was rooted in place over the bodies of his comrades, his tentative friends, for this last year. It wasn't suppose to end like this. Loki was suppose to be free. He had tried so hard. Tony had tried. They had tested...

Loki was suppose to be free.

Loki should have known better. There was no hiding. He should have gone as far away from everything, everyone, as possible. Not sheathed himself among the only heroes he knew strong enough to help.

Black Widow's head was twisted uncomfortably and Loki longed to lay her out more respectfully, if only his limbs would move. The archer was missing his eyes. A twisted joke, made only to prove a point that **He** had always been watching. Made to prove a point that Loki had ceased to be as soon as he had fallen from the Bifrost. Loki was a corpse. A poppet that **He** amused himself with. A tool that **He** would used how **He** saw fit.

Loki felt his skin crawl. Heimdall had never felt so invasive and he had watched Loki all of his known life.

Blood still seeped from the Captain's body. Head and shoulders parted by his shield. Loki wished he had been made to strangle the Captain so that perhaps he could have survived.

The witched returned with the Tesseract. She took hold of one end, looking at him expectantly.

This was cruel.

Loki took the other end.

* * *

 

The witch couldn't breathe where they landed and Loki had to watch as she twisted and choked. **He** gave her autonomy just to watch as tears streamed her face and she reached desperately to Loki, to her friend and teacher. Her magic tried, but it was not polished enough to save her. Loki hadn't taught her how. He didn't think that he needed to. He thought he had time.

Loki finally looked up.

Nebula was standing to one side of her father's throne, Gamora to the other. One of them had eyes of blue, the other just had bruises for her trouble.

Loki should have known that He would never trust Gamora to her own devices, strong as she was.

Looking at them both, no matter that Nebula was not being controlled, they were both gone. Broken to the core as they had not been even the first time Loki had been here. As Loki knew he was soon to be.

Loki wondered what they had done... or tried to do.

Loki wondered if there was a part of Nebula left to rely on.

Loki wondered if it was worth it to hope that Thor would come, or that he would stay away.

**Wake Up.**

Loki did.

It felt more like going to sleep.

It felt like going under.


End file.
